Enigma

by Tonya Kuper

  Reid had already been warned about consequences and he was yelling—on my behalf. I didn’t want him to suffer because of me, but at the same time, a profound gratitude warmed my insides.

  The lady pressed an ear piece I hadn’t noticed before. She was being prompted by the people behind the camera, most likely the Council. She glanced to the camera and gave one nod.

  She began to leave, pausing in the doorway. “Mr. Wentworth, someone needs to speak to you before the meeting.”

  Reid stepped away from the table, to me. Who would want to talk to him before an emergency meeting? An uneasiness caterpillared up my neck.

  I needed to say something, but all I wanted to do was hug him. “Thank you for trying to protect me. I don’t want you to get in trouble becau—”

  The door swung open, the latch echoing through the room.

  Reid’s father stood tall in the threshold.

  I couldn’t manage a complete thought. My mind was confused by what I saw.

  I peered to Reid, his face pale and eyes wide.

  Reid’s look of confusion and surprise jump-started my brain again. This person could be trying to shock us and throw us off. He could pull a gun.

  It was suddenly hot in the room and Reid was too far away from me. A couple of steps was too far if this person tried to hurt Reid. I tried to swallow and forced my heavy feet toward Reid. Reid’s father would be the perfect disguise for the mole, getting him special clearance and a way to get close to me.

  4.

  Reid

  I couldn’t make my body move. I was a statue of myself, unmoving and full of cracks. If someone had shoved me to the floor, I probably would’ve broken.

  Dad’s eyes wandered over me. “Cal,” he said. The word came out loud and strong, the way I’d always remembered him. He glanced to Josie. “Josie, you’ve grown up.”

  I’d thought he was dead. Everyone had thought he was dead.

  How did I know if it was really him? This person could be the mole. What a perfect way to get close.

  After my mom died, I became suspicious of, well, everyone. And after everything else that had gone down since that day, my paranoia had only grown. Throw in a mole who wanted Josie dead now, and I couldn’t take any chances.

  He’d just called me Cal, my name until a couple of years ago.

  The Consortium had killed my mom about a year before I’d had to kill my best friend, Nick. After I was urged to change my appearance for safety reasons, my new partner, Santos, and I became field trainers, Resistance Oculi who trained new Oculi around the country. The day after I left the Hub on my first mission, my dad went missing. He was never confirmed dead, but if an Oculi was missing for over a year, most assumed death. And the Consortium had already killed my mother—everyone assumed he went down the same way. Dad only knew me as Reid for a short time before he disappeared. But if this man was the mole, well, my new name could be something he didn’t know.

  “Reid. It’s Reid now.” My voice was small, like I was ten years old again.

  My dad was a talented Oculi who’d helped form the Resistance, and I never thought I’d measure up to the amazing person he was. To many, he was a leader. To me, he was a legend. Tough as nails but a heart of gold. Gentle strength.

  He shook his head. “Yes, Reid. I, uh—well.”

  “I need to know it’s really you.”

  My demand didn’t seem to surprise him as he nodded. “Your mom and I took you to Winter Park one weekend when you were four to teach you how to ride a bike. We wanted you to have that experience like every other kid.”

  He could have heard that from someone.

  His brows arched as he placed his hands on his hips. “Your mom used to get frustrated when we were late to dinner because we were playing basketball in one of the training rooms.” He grinned, one side of his mouth pulling up higher than the other.

  I loved shooting hoops with Dad. I smiled.

  He stepped toward me. “Your mom’s favorite flowers were gardenias, and you placed one in her hands the day of her funeral.”

  This hurt to hear but relief swelled in my chest, because it was true. No one knew that detail about Mom’s funeral apart from him and me. This was my dad. He was alive.

  He shrugged and approached me with open arms. It wasn’t until his hands landed on my back, giving me a couple of hard pats, that I woke up.

  I hugged him back, squeezing him to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating. “Dad?” I croaked. We’d shared so many joys and sorrows as a family, and he was here, he was real. This was the person who would back me, no questions asked, despite my flaws. My sinuses burned as I fought off tears.

  “Missed you, son.” His voice cracked slightly on the last word.

  My mouth stretched into a grin.

  Letting go of me, he motioned for me to follow with a proud smile. He looked the same as he did a couple of years ago, besides a little more silver painting his temples. Tall, dark hair, broad shoulders.

  I glanced to Josie. She fidgeted, weaving her fingers through each other, raking her fingertips over the palm of the opposite hand. She was nervous, thinking.

  Turning back to Dad, I couldn’t contain my question any longer. “Where have you been?”

  “I went undercover. To keep everyone safe, mostly you, I couldn’t let you know my whereabouts.”

  He’d willingly left without warning. My chest stung when I sucked in air, the truth that he left me pricking holes in my lungs.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to hurt you.” His words rasped out, just above a whisper.

  How was I supposed to respond to his apology? Focusing on his eyes, I nodded.

  His hand went to his left ear as if he were itching, and I wouldn’t have thought anything different, until his thumb and index finger lingered on his earlobe and pinched. He wasn’t making calls for a baseball game. My dad had created a few visual codes for our family when I was little. An index finger salute meant something wasn’t right. This hand gesture was used between my parents, me, and my closest friend in the Hub, Cohen. There were a couple of other hand signals that were only for my parents and me. Brushing a shoulder meant run. Luckily we hadn’t had to use that signal as often as the others. Pinching an earlobe meant talk in private.

  It really wasn’t a surprise that he’d want more privacy to talk about this. We were father and son and I needed more explanation than what he was giving. But for now, Josie and I had an ally, and that was big. Counting Cohen, we now had four of us.

  I wiped under my right eye with my forefinger, indicating to my dad that I saw his sign. The gesture to the eye wasn’t always needed or used, but in this instance, I needed him to know that I’d caught his secret message. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Josie staring at me. She had no idea we were throwing signals. Or maybe she did. She was a smart one.

  Clearing my throat, I said, “I know you didn’t want to hurt me.” We were both acutely aware that every word and action was being recorded by the camera in the corner. It was second nature to alter conversations, saying just enough, in the Hub. One con to living in a secret society stuffed inside a mountain.

  He raised his right hand to scratch the left side of his chest, over his heart. It was the code for trust me.

  Got it, dad. I nonchalantly rubbed my hand over my brow. Again, the eye to let him know I saw his sign. My muscles relaxed more with my next breath.

  “Let’s talk on our way to the Council meeting.” He held the door behind him open, letting Josie pass through the threshold. He patted her on the arm. He’d known her since she was a baby, but they hadn’t seen each other since her brother’s funeral two years ago. He saluted me with his index finger as I stepped past him through the doorway.

  Yep, I agreed. Something wasn’t right. I returned the secret salute, anxious to get out of the heavily monitored room.

  “Dad, have you been brought up to speed on what’s been going on, what happened with the Harpers in Florida?”

  Da
d stopped and clamped his hand on my shoulder. “I got in a couple of days ago and was briefed on what happened. You trained her in record time to ensure the enhancement serum Meg Harper worked on would be delivered to Vice President Brown. Santos ended up being a double agent, working for the Consortium, and attempted to steal the serum and kill Josie.”

  He looked past me to Josie. “Sounds like you did a great job, Josie. Your mom should be here soon.”

  All of Josie’s exposed skin, her face and neck, flushed as she shifted her weight to the opposite leg and crossed her arms. “What? She’s not here yet?” Her voice was high and strained. “She was supposed to be here by now. Harrison, where is my family? Have you talked to her?” Through her stance, voice, and now the distraught eyes, her anxiety was almost tangible.

  Dad moved to the side of the hall. “Not yet.” He turned to face both of us. “I called her in because we need another Founder here. The Davises disappeared.”

  My stomach sank. The Davises were the closest thing I had to grandparents. They helped form the Resistance and lived in the Hub most of the time. They were good people, Oculi with empty energy banks who took care of others. “Disappeared?”

  He leaned toward Josie and me. “The day before I returned, they vanished. No trace.”

  Josie’s hand swept up to cover her mouth. “Eli.” I barely made out the quiet muffle behind her hand.

  Dad leaned an inch closer. “We don’t know if they were taken, killed, or what. But with Stella disappearing, Nick dying, and now the Davises missing, and—” He paused, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat. “And you after your mom. Well, we need to solidify more than ever. That’s why I thought it would be best to get the Founders and their families together.”

  “Stella is missing?” A crease formed between Josie’s eyebrows. Stella had visited Josie’s family growing up just as I had. When they were younger, they were friends.

  I nodded. “Right after Nick died.” My guts twisted. I hated saying those words, reminding her, once again, that I killed her brother, my best friend, because he was dangerous. “Dee was devastated. All the Founding families have now been hurt in some capacity.”

  Dad started walking again. “Meg was the one who told me about a mole in the Hub.”

  Josie nodded and Dad turned to lead us to the garage.

  The hall to the garage was more like a mining tunnel with rough rock walls. Our footfalls echoed in unison on the concrete floor.

  We rounded the corner into the expansive open area that held our vehicles and larger equipment. The fleet of black vehicles made three lines behind the Eye in the Sky, our large control tower that overlooked the area. The garage was home to Hub security, which included military and defense equipment and transportation.

  Dad walked between Josie and me as we crossed the garage floor to the opposite side. Keeping his sights forward, he cleared his throat. “We’ll talk soon,” he whispered. “There is more going on than you could possibly imagine. Unfortunately, you and Josie are now a part of it.”

  Not wanting to show an outward reaction, since anyone could be watching us, I said, “Got it.” Anger simmered deep inside me. Josie didn’t deserve to be dragged into the middle of this ridiculous world.

  A uniformed trooper I didn’t recognize approached us, looking at Dad. “Sir. Max directed me to contact you but you weren’t answering your phone. Is there a bomb threat or found weapons included in this E3?”

  “No. But we still need all Council and Founder members in the meeting. Double-check to make sure all are present.”

  The trooper nodded, then led us to the Council’s hallway.

  I focused on the door ahead that would guide us to the Council’s row of offices and meeting rooms. The door the trooper had just run through.

  Josie glanced to me, concern dancing in her eyes.

  “You’ll need to do another retina scan. No biggy.” I guided Josie to the scanner on the wall next to a large metal door. “Place your forehead on the rest. Wait for the blinking green light.” She stepped to my side in silence. I used the retina scan and Dad followed.

  Someone tapped my shoulder from behind. Dee, a dark-blond-haired middle-aged woman. She stood with her arms open and a big smile that made the corners of her eyes wrinkle.

  Dee was a founder of the Resistance, and I’d known her for as long as I could remember. She was like an aunt to me, and her daughter, the one who disappeared after Nick’s funeral, was like a cousin.

  With no words, I leaned down to embrace her. Dee finally pulled away, releasing me from her death-grip hug, and she paused to study my face. “Look how tall you are now.”

  I couldn’t help but smile. “No offense, but I’ve been taller than you for years, Dee.” She laughed. I had to give my condolences but didn’t want to say the wrong thing. “I’m sorry Stella hasn’t been found yet.”

  She pursed her lips together as her head shook quickly. “Thank you.”

  Dee stepped to the eye scanner, and I held the door open as Dad, Dee, and Josie filed through.

  Dee spun around. “Josie?”

  A bashful smile slid onto Josie’s face.

  “I hardly recognized you! Nice to see you, my dear.” She patted Josie’s shoulder then continued down the hall, leading the way.

  Decorative lights every six feet illuminated the hallway and the floor was some kind of polished stone. It smelled different in this wing. Cleaning supplies covered by a sweet-scented air freshener.

  Instead of turning into the usual meeting room, where I’d been many times, Dee led us to the end of the hall where two troopers stood guard with rifles in their hands. Josie tightened her ponytail and rubbed her palms on her jeans.

  Dad slowed and glanced over his shoulder to Josie and me. “Extra security in a nonstandard room due to this meeting being classified as E3.”

  We marched into a large room where a couple of handfuls of people waited. Dad and Dee crossed the room to the Council members, who stood near a long table.

  Shoving my hands into my pockets, I pivoted to Josie. Her arms crossed in front of her chest and her long legs stood wide. She was on the defense; ready for anything. Smart. Her lips parted while her eyes roamed around the room. She was nervous, scared. Hell, so was I. She was such a strong person, yet in this fleeting moment her vulnerability was almost tangible. I wanted to pull her against me, to comfort her, to help her feel safe. Instead, I simply asked, “Are you okay?”

  Josie nodded. “Are you?”

  “I’m fine.”

  A bell rang, cuing the start of the meeting. I guided Josie to the handful of empty chairs facing the Council. The Council members, five total, took their seats at the front of the room, behind a long metal table. Max, Nico, Ming, Shreeya, Jared.

  The Council represented the people of the Resistance across The United States. If the Founders of the Resistance were at the Hub, they could also sit with the Council, adding their perspectives and knowledge. The Founders introduced the democratic system specifically so they wouldn’t make decisions for all Resistance members.

  My father and Dee sat to the side of the Council. Next to them, empty seats where the absent Founders should have been sitting. My stomach dipped. My mom, Josie’s parents, the Davises.

  Max, the Speaker of the Council, stood. Everything about him was long and angular. “Thank you all for coming to this emergency meeting.” Only three other people sat in the “audience” along with me and Josie. They had to hold some importance if they were allowed to sit in on an Emergency 3, a meeting held in a different location than public meetings and including only the highest authorities in the Hub. Thankfully we’d never experienced an Emergency 1, an evacuation, or an Emergency 2, attack from outside forces. Wish I could’ve said the same about E3’s.

  “This meeting was called by Reid Wentworth, formerly known as Callum Ross, son of Founders Harrison and Mary Ross. We have several pieces of important news to share, since we have so many of you together in one place, but we�
�ll allow Reid to have the floor first.”

  I stood and pulled my shoulders back. “Thank you, Max, Council, and Founders. I called for an E3 meeting because we believe a mole resides in the Hub, the same Consortium mole that worked with my partner, Santos, in trying to kill Josie.” I hated saying those words. “Santos and the mole also tried to intercept the enhancement serum Josie delivered to Vice President Brown. This mole is a threat to Josie, to her family, who is on their way here now, and to the Resistance as a whole. Josie’s family being here, given the attack and her being an Anomaly with exceptional skills, will likely push the traitor to a second, even more desperate attack.” In my peripheral vision, I could see Josie watching me, and I hoped I’d spoken well enough. She would’ve conveyed the urgency of the problem better, probably using bigger words than I did.

  Max held up his palm. “One moment.” The council members leaned toward Max as they whispered. “We have debriefing questions, Mr. Wentworth.”

  After ten minutes of questions pertaining to dates, times, places, and such, the Council finally got to the questions they really wanted answered. “You were supposed to make contact with the Hub after you encountered a Consortium agent the night you met Miss Harper, and again when you and your partner ran into another agent. Why did you not follow protocol?” Jared, the Council member with a ponytail, asked.

  I shoved my hands in my pockets to keep from crossing my arms and appearing overly defensive. “I made a judgment call. I’ve always made decisions based on what is in the best interest of the Hub or the Oculi in training. The Consortium goon could have only known where we were if they had inside information from the Hub. The Hub was—and still is—compromised.”

  “You had no reason at that time to suspect Santos of being a mole?” Ming, another Council member I didn’t know well, raised her chin.